1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to electrical stimulation devices and, more particularly, to pulse burst electrical stimulation of nerve or tissue fibers.
2. Related Art
There are several types of electrical stimulation devices that use an electrical signal to activate nerve or tissue fibers in a patient to stimulate an activity or response. A prosthetic hearing device or implant is an example of such a device that aids implant recipients who have a hearing deficiency. Prosthetic hearing implants apply one or more stimulation signals to the cochlea or auditory brainstem nuclei of the recipient to stimulate hearing. More particularly, such devices include a microphone that receives ambient sounds and a signal processor implementing a speech strategy which converts selected ambient sounds into corresponding stimulation signals. The signal processor controls an implanted unit to transmit the stimulation signals along an electrode array implanted within the cochlea of the recipient.
It has been generally well accepted that conventional prosthetic hearing devices fail to provide the desired natural perception of hearing due to their inability to precisely mimic the physiological firing pattern, or stimulation, which occurs in a healthy hearing ear.